2014 – Handcrafted Books by Michele Olsen

Peace in the Studio

My first real day in the studio since early September AND I’m still in my pajamas! Heaven. The task is pretty pedestrian—making envelopes out of recycled calendars for our late (again) holiday cards. It has been a meditation to fold, cut, and tape these business sized envelopes. An unexpected treat is reading the other sides of the pages—seeing the calendar entries of those activities that kept me so busy this last year or so.

The envelopes are sitting on my massive paper cutter (30″ x 36″), located for me by my dear brother-in-law at an auction somewhere in the Great Plains. I will have to squeeze myself into the back corner to use the giant cutting blade but it is happy to be sitting on a secure surface and back at work. I have used it so much already that I’m wondering what I ever did without it. I’m not losing much table surface space since I can place my cutting mat on the top.

My next project is to create the books and materials list for the two OLLI classes this Spring. More on that later…..

December 27, 2014/2 Comments/by Michele

Studio

Paper Cutter!

Yipee! I just got this today. My brother-in-law is always going to auctions and he spotted this 30″ x 36″ paper cutter. It will be a vast improvement over the 8″ x 8″ when it comes to cutting my art papers. It is NOT portable and it will be “interesting” to see where is ends up in my little studio. I’ve been eyeing my husband’s workspace in our garage, but that is another story. It fills the entire back of the car for the long ride back to California. Bring on the paper!

November 18, 2014/0 Comments/by Michele

Miscellaneous

Book Wreath

This was just delivered to me by my grandson’s wife! Needless to say, I am thrilled with it. She made it out of old math books and romance novels, creating a nice balance of left and right brain tendencies. I will be bringing this to the Holiday Card Extravaganza (OLLI class) where I will show you how to make one rose after Sandy Vrem teaches us to create holiday card structures. See you December 2, 1-4pm at the aquatic center.

November 17, 2014/2 Comments/by Michele

Boxes, Workshop Followup

More Book-in-a-Box Results

Thank you students for sending photos of your completed books. As always, your “take” on the structure is unique and creative. You inspire me!

November 10, 2014/0 Comments/by Michele

Sewn Spine

Finished Product

The wedding guest book is finally done. The covers were drilled and sections assembled in California; coptic stitch was sewn in the car (mostly in Nevada on I80); and the headbands, rocks and redwood stick were attached at Horsecreek Ranch in central Nebraska. The bride and groom used the bed of a vintage pickup to display the book—their wedding was at a “farmette” in Colorado—it was perfect. Oh. The bride and groom are both geologists, hence the rocks. I truly loved making this book and have several more in the works. Stay tuned.

September 29, 2014/2 Comments/by Michele

How-To, Sewn Spine

Car Workstation 3

I needed a new book for watercolor and ink so I gutted an old Nancy Drew mystery and put in my own sections of watercolor paper. We had a two hour car trip today so I sewed it as we drove and found a new use for the bright pink lap desk! I needed to pierce holes in the spine of the book so I flipped the desk over the pierced the holes into the padded section of the desk. It worked very well and I love the “stabbing” with this particular book title!

September 17, 2014/2 Comments/by Michele

How-To, Studio

Car Workstation 2

We had to make an “emergency” stop at Raley’s in Winnemucca, Nevada, to purchase small plastic dental floss feeders (see light blue loop on the inside of the left cover). While sewing the Coptic Stitch for this book I realized that the holes that are drilled diagonally from the edge into the first vertical hole (cannot see in the photo) were crooked enough that I couldn’t pass the needle and thread through. After trying to straighten the path, use a small needle, and threading with no needle, I remembered those little handy floss feeders I use to keep openings of my tiny glue bottle sealed. They worked! So, these little things are now a permanent part of my tool box. I have finished the Coptic and tomorrow it’s on to the headbands. The wood is black acacia (thanks to Rollie) and the blue paper is handmade flax paper from Minneapolis. The other holes in the front cover are for a surprise.
PS. Somewhere on the floor of the car are two size 22 tapestry needles, toasted almonds, and three dental floss feeders.

September 12, 2014/0 Comments/by Michele

How-To, My Books, Studio

Car Workstation

With long travel days and a need to work on a book I’ve decided to create a lap workstation for the car. I purchased the least colorful lap desk—hard to imagine that the others were brighter—and put together a little kit of threads, needles, prepunched sections and boards that I can store by my feet. The drink holder on the table is perfect for storing needles and scissors. Of course, I cannot be without my iPod. To the right, on the dash, I can store my piping hot coffee.

So, how’s it working? I’ve lost one needle between the seats and can sew without stabbing Rollie in the eye while he is driving. I also decided to go with 6-needle sewing against my better judgement—one needle would have been easier to keep track of but the need for longer thread has it’s disadvantages. I am sewing a wedding album for a dear friend. I will keep you posted.

September 11, 2014/0 Comments/by Michele

Boxes, Folded, How-To, Workshop Followup

Book-in-a-Box Class Photos

I love making books; teaching others to do the same is just icing on the cake. It is inspiring to be in the same room with creative, capable, and enthusiastic students. The following photos will illustrate some of the work that went into making this type of book as well many of the ideas that students contributed. Enjoy.

These are papers I created out of masking paper (used for taping windows in preparation for painting) and acrylic paint. The paper perfect for covering boxes as it’s thin, pliable, and fairly strong.

We used 0.059″ thick standard book board to create a box and the hinged cover. We experimented with PVA Jade-Thick from Hollanders. It was great for these small boxes because it is very tacky.

While the boxes dried we created a hinged cover. This particular technique is useful for all kinds of artist books. Boards were glued then applied to the wrong side of the paper. Rather than burnishing the right side we pressed the paper to the board to encourage wrinkles and texture.

Covering the boxes was next.

There was much variation in colors. Some decided to add more color and brought their acrylics…….

…..and acrylic enhancements. Check out “Products” on Golden’s website to see the many products available along with their uses.

Then the real fun begins—getting ready to add our own miniature components to the book.

The strip of decorated Arches 90 HP watercolor paper was next. Each had her own idea of what to add to the book. These were folded like an accordion and will be attached to the inside front cover.

This book is almost finished. The thread needs to be trimmed and a slot added to hold the accordion fold. What a delight! The upper shelf holds miniature books and the accordion fold holds quotes about books.

Great job everyone. Working with you and your ideas is a treat in many ways. PS. Thanks for the real treats for our long work session today.

Busy hands….busy place.

August 28, 2014/2 Comments/by Michele

Boxes, Past Workshops

Book-in-a-Box

It’s getting to be that time again. OLLI Fall 2014 semester starts next week and I have a two day course you might be interested in taking. This is a wonderful box/book structure that fits in your hands. When the cover is opened the accordion book folds open; the book can be displayed in the open or closed position. This particular book is a celebration of my sister and her love of horses. I created the papers at a Randi Parkhurst workshop. Photoshop was used to size and print a photo of my sister in full-fledged cowgirl regalia. The closure has a vintage button with a silver horse and beads on linen thread.
“All horses, at least once in their lives, should be loved by a little girl.”

INFORMATION FROM THE OLLI CATALOG:

Book Arts: Book-in-a-Box

Create a custom box to encase your handmade book. Learn the basics of making and covering boxes, then create a simple book to place in the box. Boxes protect the book, but can also be an integral part of the book. They can hold small treasures that further enhance the theme of your book.
Basic Toolkit: Cutting mat, cutting knife, metal ruler, sharp pencil, bookmaker’s awl, bone folder, small sharp scissors, wet wipes, old telephone book, small glue brush, PVA (Art Center or Ellis Engineering). Additional materials will be provided. ($5 materials fee)
date ………. Tues./Thurs., Aug. 26 & 28
time ………. 1-4 p.m.
fee ………. Members $55/non-members $80 (47526)
place ………. Humboldt Bay Aquatic Center (HBAC)
instr ………. Michele Olsen

Thank you Ellen Golla for the wonderful photos of the book. Thanks also to Nancy Holley for teaching me this structure.

August 18, 2014/0 Comments/by Michele